Stocks return from losses

Dhaka stocks bounced back yesterday after the market regulator clarified a directive on margin loans that forced investors into panic sell-offs.
A clarification posted on the Dhaka Stock Exchange website on Tuesday and on the trading server yesterday morning said the directive on margin loans meant a prescription for credit maintenance, not related to loan disbursement.
Prior to the clarification, investors went into a sales overdrive, panicked by the directive. They had speculated that they would get less credit than the loan ratio fixed by the SEC at 1:1.5.
The directive said the stockbrokers would have to follow the regulator's guideline to determine the price of portfolio or securities against margin loans. The formula for price determination is to divide the summation of closing price and net asset value of the securities by two.
The benchmark index of the premier bourse, DSE General Index, shot up 114.51 points, or 2.07 percent, before finishing the day at 5,633.45.
A price jump in Grameenphone shares was another driver for yesterday's trade.
Chittagong stocks also marked a sharp rise. The CSE Selective Categories Index went up 179.37 points, or 1.7 percent, to 10,696.43. The CSE All Share Price Index shot up 266.11 points, 1.65 percent, to 16,334.14.